Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams on Tour

“Freddie Flintoff’s return to television would be a five-star watch even without the insight he provides into his horrific Top Gear crash. Yet the sense of joy, humour and hope that infused the first series of this show – in which Flintoff took a bunch of kids from his home town of Preston and introduced them to cricket – is also here in abundance. I’ll wager it’s the most entertaining, touching series you’ll watch this year.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“It’s customary with programmes like this to think, man, I hope these kids will be all right. We’re not used to having the same thought about the superstar coach. What that means, however, is that Field of Dreams on Tour becomes an even more stirring hymn to the value of sport as an excuse to get out into the world, to get moving, to get together.”
Jack Seale, The Guardian

“This series is knocking the first one for six when it comes to sheer emotional stakes. This isn’t just about the teenagers stepping outside their comfort zone, it is now about Flintoff himself having to do that too – it is his step out from the shadows, him addressing his own magnified anxieties. And as such it threatens to make most other TV with ‘personal journeys’ look trite.”
James Jackson, The Times

“It’s undoubtedly schmaltzy, and some will find the narrative beats of Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams On Tour rather predictable. In that way, it does not resemble the fickle carnage of true Indian street cricket. But as a testament to the power of sport – and sportsmanship – to overcome hurdles and break down barriers, this second innings marks a welcome return to the crease.”
Nick Hilton, The Independent

“His desire to share his love of the sport with the Preston boys is patently sincere. Freddie wanted it to be life-changing for them. His Field Of Dreams has proved a very different place – one that promises a better future not for the lads but for their mentor. His bravery in returning to TV, in laying bare the physical and emotional marks with which the crash has left him, is commendable. He may not be able to save the world through cricket. But cricket is saving him.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“Two years on from his horror accident, the emphasis was understandably just as much on Flintoff as it was on his young charges. His rapport with his ragtag cricket team has always been patient, humorous and unpatronising – but his affinity with them was subtly altered by his post-accident vulnerability.”
Gerard Gilbert, The i